Schuylkill River Monitor

With flooding a common hazard for the Port Providence and Mont Clare sections of the township, the Office of Emergency Management has installed a river level monitoring station. The station is solar powered and has the ability to transmit alert messages to emergency officials through a cellular dialer.

This river monitoring station is set to alarm at several different alert stages as the river rises during heavy rains. These alert levels are important to emergency officials as flooding of the area can leave residents and motorists stranded.

The initial alert (Level 1) is set at a river height of 10’ (above the river monitors probe). With this in mind, the river typically flows at a depth of approximately 3’. Should the river rise an additional 7' an alert will be sent to emergency personnel notifying them of the river's height of 10'. Minor flooding of Canal St. begins at a height of 11'.

The second alert (Level 2) is set at a river height of 13’. As the river continues to rise to 14’, water from the Schuylkill River will begin to spill over into the canal at Canal St. At this height, the lower end of Mont Clare as well as Port Providence will quickly take on water should the rivers height increase.

The final alarm (Level 3) is set at a river height of 17’. At this height, the river begins to push upward through the storm water inlet located under the State Route 29 railroad overpass on the Phoenixville side of the Schuylkill River. At this point, major flooding of the area is occurring. Route 29 into Phoenixville will close due to high water.